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Taurus Birthday Post & Recipe: Tarta de Chocolate

April 20, 2015

TAURUS

APRIL 20 – MAY 20

FIXED EARTH

RULING PLANET: VENUS

COLOR: Green

KEYWORDS: Persistence, Loyalty, Sensuality

Taureans are sensible, grounded and determined to meet their goals, their endurance is above average and their patience makes for a calm and serene demeanor. Their easy going, but strong exterior is matched by sensitivity and optimism as they persevere. They are thoughtful and will not rush before moving forward once they feel secure. They enjoy the simple things in life and appreciate anything beautiful and comforting. Organization, keeping lists and tasks in order helps them go the extra mile where others often give up in their quest for success. They keep their home in order, love to cook, entertain and surround themselves with creativity and art. Because of this, they tend to be very artistic in various ways!

Ruled by Venus, Taurus is known for being magnetic, beautiful and sensual. This also comes into play with their love of beauty and aesthetics. They do love to shop, but intelligently whenever possible – investing in valuable pieces and saving money where it makes sense for them so they can afford to do so. They weigh and evaluate their finances like all decisions, very carefully in a thought out process… or they’d be uncomfortable acting out at all. Friends and family of Taurus will know them to be very generous and loving, they take care of their loyal, devoted loved ones and often surround themselves with small, tight-knit groups of those they can trust. Save the drama for someone else… Taurus is not into it at all. They keep their eye on the prize, power through, but know how to enjoy the good things in life along the way. Stick with Taurus to go far, hit your goals, and enjoy some good food, wine and beauty along the way!

Shopping for Taurus? They love to be pampered with decadence… in the form of food, wine, little luxuries and surrounded by beauty. Flowers or a gift card to their favorite shop, luxurious dinner plates or anything for the kitchen/entertaining would be perfect! They also love nature… so since their birthday is in the spring… take them outside! Earthy colors like a deep green will always work! Their zone is in their neck, so a beautiful scarf or necklace will definitely impress. But most of all, bringing your loveliest attitude to enjoy their day with them is most appreciated.

Confession time — I’m a Taurus! Happy Birthday! I must say, it’s odd to write this knowing it’s my own sign! But now you know how to shop for me 😉 hehe. Taurus is represented by the bull, and in thinking and reading about the bull, I thought of my last trip to Spain (enter “tarta” and their obsession with bulls). I also knew I wanted to do double chocolate, something decadent for sure. This is no ordinary fluffy chocolate cake, guys! This is based off of the classic recipe for a Tarta de Santiago which has no baking powder or soda… it’s a thin, dense tarta made from ground almonds. I can’t think of anything more fitting for a stubborn Taurus than a dense, chocolate on chocolate dessert. Now, since I am a Taurus… I say that with love.. obviously. 😉

You’ll probably not meet anyone steadier or loyal than a Taurus… it’s just a default setting, so a dense skull may be a symptom of all that and honestly, if anything, it’s a good theme to drive home right now. To stick to your guns, go with your gut, and grind those heels in and get your goals met.

How will you let Taurus season inspire you? What do you need to be persistent about? For me— I have some major fitness goals (more than usual) I need to hit for a trip I’m taking in June! Who’s with me?? That’s also the reason I used 4-inch cake pans here… but feel free to use this in an 8-inch pan and double it if you’d like two layers, but you don’t need it since it’s so fudgy- a single layer is more than enough (and you won’t need more cream than the recipe below).

Ingredients:

serves 4-8 // gluten-free

Make in an 8-inch pan or as shown here, 4-inch pan (or can sub in ramekins). Only layer if you can cut the single easily.

Directions:

Start with the yolks: beat them with a whisk until lightened, add salt and maple syrup. Next, add the almond meal and cocoa powder and using a stand or hand mixer, beat into a paste.

In the other bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form (about 5 minutes, they don’t need to be stiff).

Then, add half of the egg whites into the paste, beat again with a hand or stand mixer until it’s become more loose (you may need to scrape the sides of the bowl to loosen the paste manually).

You can then fold in the rest of the egg whites, if it’s not coming together, you can beat it with the mixer quickly (just don’t let it go for too long, so as not to deflate the egg whites too much).

The batter should be smooth, but it might be a little lumpy from the almonds which is OK. Spoon mixture into your pan(s) and bake for 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the tarta rest on a rack (it may take some strong-handling to get it out, but have patience! Once cooled, you can start on the cream!

For the cream, spoon out the top cream and beat with a stand or hand mixer until peaks form (2 minutes or so), then add cocoa powder and syrup and continue beating until it’s incorporated and smooth. For easy topping, I used a plastic bag as a piping bag or you can place a large dollop on top of the tarta and spread lightly across the top.

I loved reading this, Taurus is my sign too – my birthday is May 16th! You are EXACTLY right with your suggestions for how to treat a Taurus on her birthday 🙂 Your birthday cake looks and sounds so delicious! Happiest birthday wishes to you, Alison!

Clink-Clink to you my Taurus friend, we shall celebrate together! Both on the 1st, me on the 18th – we are May babies! Thank you for this lovely horoscope of Taurus. My husband and I read it together and chuckled throughout… it’s spot on! Thank you too for this lovely, chocolatey cake… the 4" pans are genius. The smallest I have are 6"… and I considered that small, but those pans still makes a big cake! Throughly enjoyed this post, Alison! Thank you, and Happy Birthday!